Improvement in splices for wire ropes



W. P. HEALEY. Sploes for Wire-Ropes.

No. 219,860. Patented Sept. 23,1879.

N,FErERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHFR, wAsHuwToNy D c UNITED STATES PATENTOEETGEu WILLIAM '1). HEALEY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SP'LICES FOR WIRE ROPES.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,860, datedSeptember 23, 1879; application filed May 21, 1879. l g

To all whom tt may con-cem:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. HEALEY, ot' New Orleans, State ofLouisiana, 'have invented a new and ,useful or Improved Splice for WireRope, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to furnish a durable splice in wirerope bythe use of a fusible metal forvfastening the parts, thereby obviatin gthe complicated or repeated tuckin g of the strands, the hemp heartbeing removed at the splice and the rope kept expanded by insertingshort sections of metal tubes opposite the endsjof the molds' into whichsuch fusible metal is poured. In splicing large rope two of the strandsmay be tucked through the standing part of the rope for the purpose ofbringing the strands in better posi-tion for tapering, the other wiresbeing cut oii' atdifferent lengths and fastened down along the standingpart by winding with a wire.

In forming the short or end-to-end splice, the strands only are unlaidfrom the rope, the wi'res of the strands not being unlaid,' the strandsof the two parts being crotched together without tucking. The strands`-are then wound or woolded with a wire. And inA forming theend-seizingsplice the end of the rope may be merely turned up and stopped with awire alongside the standing part of the rope, without taperingthe end ofthe turned-in part.

When the rope is prepared in any of the described or other methods, thespliee'is placed in a suitable mold and the melted metal poured therein,which penetrates the interstices between the wires, and also forms a,coating or sleeve around the body ofthe rope.

Figure 1 is a planview of a section of rope, showing the method ofinterlocking or tucking the wires through the body of the standing partwhen making an eyelsplice in large ropes. Fig. 2 is also a plan view ofthe rope, and of one halt' of the mold in position upon the rope, aswhen the metal vis applied therein. Fig. 3

is a plan showing the rope with the completed splice. Fig. 4:,is alongitudinal section ot' the rope and completed splice, and showing thehempen core where itis not removed, and the applied metal in place ofthe hemp core where the same has been removed, and also showing thesections of tubing as inserted to keep the rope expanded. Fig. o is anenlarged transverse section taken on line yz, Fig. 3, and showing theapplied metal within the interstices of the wires and-strands, whichlatter are shown in black. Fig. 6 is a modification, showing the rope inplan, with an end on splice, the applied metal and the mold being shownin longitudinal section. Fig. 7 is also a modification, showing aneye-splice formed without tapering the turned-in part, the rope beingshown in plan,and the applied metal in longitudinal section.`

In these figures, A is the standing part of the rope, and A theturned-in part. B is the mold, and G the soft metal as applied to therope in the mold.

a represents a strand as tucked through the body of the standing'partwhen large ropes are spliced by my method.

b b are the unlaid wires, which are cut at 'varying lengths when it isdesired to form a tapering splice. y

c is the woolding, which is temporarily applied to hold the parts inposition while the' strands are being adjusted Vand the wire h is beingwound in place. y

d represents the hemp core in the rope, and g is the metal which fillsthe space where the core has been removed.

fis the gate through which the metal, C, is poure'd to the rope in themold, and e e are the sections of tubing that hold the strands apartafter the core is removed.

In said Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 the rope is shown with an eye-splice graduallytapered down to the size of the rope. In Fig. 6 both parts of the moldare shown, the section. being taken transversely to the line betweensuch parts. In Fig. 7 an eye-splice is shown formed without being eitherinterlocked or tapered.

Various kinds of soft metal may be employed in forming my splice, suchas brass, Babbitt metal, and other mixtures; yet I deem what is known tothe trade as Babbitt metal equal, if not superior, to any other for'such purpose.

The adhesion of the fused metal to the wires, as well as the closecontact of the outer body, C, of such metal to all the inequalities ofthe several strands, and the connection of such body C with the heart gAby means' of /the metal between the wires and strands, is such that byactual tensile test the best wire rope will part at other points than inthe splice so made. My splice is also compact, indestructible, and doesnot injure hemp or Manila rigging when rendered across it besides, thissplice can be made by any one, though not a competent and skillfulrigger.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a Wire-rope splice, the sections e, tohold the strands of the rope expanded Where the hemp cored is removed,to allow the metal g to fill such space, substantially as specified.

2. The process hereinbefore described of splicing a Wire rope, the sameconsisting in the formation of a longitudinal cavity in the center ofthe rope hy the removal of its hem pen core, and casting, by means of asuitable mold, about the ends to be united, and in the cavity x in each,molten fusible metal, so as to form a sleeve around the splice, themetal Within said

